Sensitive Periods

Maria Montessori used the term 'sensitive period' to describe the time in a child's development during which they are more interested in or motivated by a specific concept or skill. Children will each experience sensitive periods slightly differently, but in general all children pass through sensitive periods in a predictable way.

My favorite sensitive period is that of small details and tiny objects. Usually between the ages of 1.5 and 4 years, children become enamored with small things. This includes noticing minute details, such as a tiny insect or slight imperfection in an object. Sometimes, children will become nearly obsessed with carrying very tiny objects around with them, often filling their pockets with little treasures. It is during this sensitive period that children occasionally take home objects from the classroom, often a single golden bead or the smallest pink cube.

Montessori wrote about the challenges experienced when a child is not permitted to follow their internal drive during sensitive periods.

"If a child misses some of his sensitive periods during his development, he will still grow up into an adult, but that adult will not be as strong nor so perfect an individual as he would have been if he had been able to avail himself of their constructive powers."

Maria Montessori, Her Life and Work